


Stories of the Second Self: Loyalty You Can’t Buy

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [91]
Category: Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:55:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22595131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: Courtesy of an unusual cab ride, Jonah Capell had advanced warning of the coming supernatural changes to the city and the world beyond. Realizing he'd need to adapt, Jonah gives up his stock trading and shifted his fortune toward urban farming and an associated grocery startup. While in his office and glancing at security camera feeds, Jonah recognizes an old cab-driving werewolf acquaintance. Curious what the cabby's view of him would be, Jonah invites him up to chat.
Series: Alter Idem [91]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: Loyalty You Can’t Buy

Typing on his office terminal, Jonah Capell occasionally glanced at the second monitor which displayed various security feeds of floors below in his building. Most levels were filled with rows of soil trenches or hydroponics vats. In front of them were shelves and bins of fresh produce, the likes of which few would've thought could come out of one farm, let alone a farm wholly indoors in the middle of Norwood Cincinnati.

Even with the federal occupation of the city entering its second year, it was something he'd have struggled to accept. But for an odd ride last year, Jonah wouldn't have believed what he later witnessed in person and on the news. Heeding the warning, Jonah liquidated a considerable amount of his personal stocks and quit his job to fund an urban farming startup.

Watching foreclosures and business bankruptcies closely, Jonah picked his moment to grab an unused commercial building on the cheap. He honestly had no idea how to run an agricultural company, but a few names in his business contacts list did or, at least, knew who to hire. Jonah forged an unlikely alliance with local growers and former biotech specialists, and together they brought crop yields to the public in record production and sales.

Returning his focus to the right monitor displaying a spread sheet of the last two weeks, something in the left monitor caught Jonah's attention. At first, Jonah just assumed it was someone who happen to look familiar, but on looking directly at the left monitor's security feed he knew it was the same man.

Johan reached over to his desk phone, dialed up the administrative assistant's desk and pressed the speaker key. "Hey, Lacy, could you get whoever's manning the security desk up here please?"

"Certainly, Mr. Capell," Lacy replied.

The guy Jonah recognized picked up a hand basket and shopped just like everyone else, though he mostly went for meat isles. The man even had the same cap on his head as last year, and if not the same clothes, the man's wardrobe wasn't terribly varied.

Jonah recognized Lacy's three-point antlers through the mostly glass door, as she knocked before entering with Robert from security. When she entered Jonah noticed the vivid royal blue toenail polish on her cloven hooves.

"That's a good color, Lacy," Jonah complimented, "Looks good on you."

"Oh, why thank you," Lacy replied with a warm smile, before adding, "I brought Robert here as you wanted."

Robert, who stepped around Lacy and approached Jonah's desk, was tall, nonsense, and had scalp hair growing from the back and sides of his neck. Jonah suspected that he'd either been a cop or military, but couldn't recall what he'd seen on the resume when he hired the beta werewolf resident of Norwood.

"Rob, could you take a look at this?" Jonah waved him over, and then turned to Lacy. "That's all I needed for now, thank you."

"We got a lifter?" Robert came around behind Jonah and studied the security feed where Jonah pointed.

"No, no," Jonah said, and then thought about it. "At least I hope not. Does that guy look familiar to you?"

"No," Robert replied at first, and then leaned in a bit. "Wait. Bring up the parking lots."

Jonah moved the mouse cursor to the security program window and switched a few camera displays. "See anything?"

"West lot's the largest, pan that unit around a bit," Robert said, and then seemed to notice the parked cab just as Jonah did, and said, "Could be Frankie."

"Who's Frankie?" Jonah asked.

"Oh, he's a cabby I've seen around town," Robert answered, "He picked me up a couple times when I had hit the bar with some friends. Seems to be just shopping, like everyone else. Why?"

"Was one of those cab rides weird for you?" Jonah pressed.

At that, Robert answered with a prolonged blink. "Yeah-- the second time. He let me know I was a werewolf. At the time I thought he was nuts, and later wondered how he spotted it so easily. Took me around the block a couple times to show me other people whose hair was growing the way mine does. Before turning around to take me home, he changed partway. For a couple months I kept asking myself why that didn't scare me, even though I thought it should have."

"Could you bring him up here for me?" Jonah asked.

Something in Robert's face let Jonah know the security guard gleaned something from Jonah's expression, before he nodded and walked around the desk to leave. After a couple minutes, Jonah saw Robert come into view of another security camera next to the cabby werewolf. The two talked, with the camera giving Jonah a side view of the conversation, and then the cabby nodded and, with hand basket in hand, followed Robert.

Eventually, Robert came to Jonah's office door and knocked, and Jonah called out, "Come in."

"He's right here, Mr. Capell," Robert said, leaning through the door.

The cabby entered the office, after Robert waved him through, and the door closed leaving the cabby alone with Jonah. Frankie lit up with recognition. "Ah yeah, the brokerage firm fair. I remember you."

"I don't believe we made formal introductions last time," Jonah replied, getting up and offering his hand over the desk. "I'm Jonah Capell."

"Frankie," the cabby replied, "Glad to meet 'ya-- again."

"No last name?" Jonah asked, sitting back down and offering a chair to Frankie.

"None worth throwin' around," Frankie answered, still smiling brightly at the man whose world he rocked a year ago. "They reject me, so I reject their name."

Jonah lowered his gaze with concession on his face. "I can imagine."

"I see you did good, though," Frankie congratulated, absently waving a hand around the office. "An' not just for yourself. Warms my heart to know you's listenin'. I see you even hired that big fella from the closed research lab. Good on 'ya, Mr. Capell."

"Jonah, please," Jonah replied, waving permission to Frankie. "You're still driving a cab, I see."

"Not the steadiest of work," Frankie admitted, "But what work really is? 'Specially in these times, eh. I'm likin' wha'cha did wit' the place. Indoor farm and grocer. Who'da thought, huh?"

"It was an idea I'd seen pitched around in business journals and magazines," Jonah explained, and got up from his desk and walked over to a cabinet. "'Course, I'd have thought it was just hippie pipe-dreaming at the time. Turns out it's where the steady money is, when even state-to-state trade is pretty much gone. It's like you said, Cincinnati became it's own country, and an isolated one at that."

"Not so much as I figured on, anyhow," Frankie said, "Honestly, wasn't sure the feds would pull off martial law, what with everyone mad at them for it."

"Glad they did," Jonah confessed, "They gave me a huge chunk of the starting investment to get this vertical farm running. Drink?"

"Wha'cha servin' there?" Frankie wondered.

"Whisky," Jonah answered, and turned the bottle. "Got my own label. It's from the potatoes we grow here."

"Yeah, I'll take a snifter o' that," Frankie accepted.

Jonah poured out two and, after putting the bottle back, returned to his desk and passed one glass over to Frankie. Jonah, then raised his glass in toast. "To the world, upside down."

"Heh," Frankie laughed, and tilted his head in thanks. "The world, upside down."

Jonah took a swig and slowly turned his head to one side. "Ohh yeah, that's the sweet spot there."

"An' smooth," Frankie praised, before setting the glass down and leaning forward to say, "So, what really made you talk after all this time?"

"I just happened to see you shopping here," Jonah replied.

"You kiddin'?" Frankie said, and tapped down on the desk with a finger. "I was here on your grand openin'. Been doin' my shoppin' here ever since."

"R-really?" Jonah was surprised. "Wouldn't have pegged you as so quickly on my side."

"We's howlers was always lookin' to back us a winner," Frankie explained, "An' that's you, among others. That's why I let'cha see us for who we was before anyone else got a peek. You still got a little bit 'o bad guy in 'ya, but that's like anyone else really."

"What's your bad side?" Jonah grew serious, but still polite. "Er, if you don't mind my asking."

"Had 'ta do someone once," Frankie confessed, running his hand through the dense hair on his neck. "Not a clean an' pretty way either."

"Let your wolf slip the leash?" Jonah ventured, having picked up some figures of speech from his werewolf employees.

"Nah," Frankie dismissed, and stared hard at his glass that he picked back up. "I made that call. You know, drivin' a cap ain't a safe thing. Comes a time now an' then, when a fair don't wanne be a fair and climbs in the front when he ain't supposed 'ta."

"Is that what happened to you?" Jonah asked.

"Yeah," Frankie answered, and gulped down the rest of his whisky, before finishing. "That's how 'ya know you's gonna get held up. Only this guy didn't figure on who he was robbin' from. I drove 'em where he wanted and passed over all my earnin' from the day. He was squattin' in some abandoned building, which was just my luck. He shot me, an' then I let loose right there. Had his ribs stabbin’ through his chest an’ his neck broke before I finished changin'. Seein' is how I had a body 'ta dump in the night, I kept the ole' wolf out for a bit. Like I told 'ya, I didn't eat the guy. Fished out the bullet when I got home."

"Jesus," Jonah breathed with a grave expression, and feeling a cold sweat come on while he visualized the story.

"This is how it's gonna be for us howlers," Frankie stated, "People who don't like us is gonna try an' take a shot at us, just like wit'cha normal wolves in the wild," and then Frankie warmed back up while passing the snifter back over. "But you, you came over 'ta our side, an' that means a lot to us. We ain't never gonna forget 'ya for that."

Jonah took the glass, but then Frankie reached over with his other hand to pat the back of Jonah's hand. After, Frankie stood and picked up the hand basket and went for the door. He turned around and gave Jonah the kind of wave that he recalled the cabby offered the werewolves who had gathered around the car that night last year.

"I'll see 'ya around, Jonah," Frankie said before leaving Jonah alone in his office.

Swirling his whisky, Jonah downed the last of it, and then raise the glass to the closed door. "To the pack, my friend."


End file.
